Argentina suspends production at Barrick gold mine after cyanide leak

BUENOS AIRES, Sept 17 (Reuters) - An Argentine judge on
Thursday said he ordered a five-day suspension of the gold
leaching process at Barrick Gold Corp's Veladero mine
to check if there was any environmental damage from a cyanide
leak triggered by a faulty valve.

"We have decided on this cautionary measure suspending the
process of lixiviation for five days," Pablo Oritja, a judge in
the western province of San Juan told Reuters on Thursday.
Barrick declined to comment on the news.

Oritja said the measure effective immediately was to ensure
that production at Veladero, one of the largest gold mines in
Argentina, was safe.

Barrick's Argentine unit said on Wednesday that it had
detected no contamination in surrounded rivers since the
incident occurred at the weekend. The company said the faulty
valve had been replaced and there had been no threat to the
health of its workers or the local community.
(Reporting by Juliana Castilla; Writing by Sarah Marsh; Editing
by W Simon)